Mining machine with adjustably mounted rotary cutting head



y 1956 J: 5. ROBBINS 2,745,649

MINING MACHINE WITH ADJUSTABLY MOUNTED ROTARY CUTTING HEAD Filed March 2", 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. JAMES 5. R088! NS ATTORNEY Y J.. s. ROBBINS 2 745 49 MINING MACHINE WITH ADJUSTABLY MOUNTED ROTARY CUTTING HEAD Filed March 27, 1953 a Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. JAM ES S. ROBBI NS a. ATTORNEY May 15, 1956 J. s. ROBBINS 2,745,549

MINING MACHINE WITH ADJUSTABLY MOUNTED ROTARY CUTTING HEAD Filed March 27, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. JAMES S. ROBBINS ATTORNEY G MACHINE WETH ADEUSTABLY MOUNTED RGTARY CUTTING HEAD James S. Erohhins, Chicago, 111., assignor to Goodman Manufacturing Company, Chicago, EL, a corporation of Illinois Application March 27, 1953, Serial No. 345,157

3 Claims. (Cl. 262-4) This invention relates to improvements in mining machines of the multi-borlng type broadly disclosed in Patent No. 1,663,621 to E. S. McKinlay, which is characterized by a cutter head having a plurality of radially extending arms mounted on forwardly extending spaced shafts, which arms carry cutter bits for dislodging coal or other material from the solid working face of the mine in advance of the machine. Such machines also usually have means for gathering the material as it is dislodged from the working face and for conveying it to the rear end of the machine while the boring operation proceeds.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide means for flexibly and adjustably mounting the cutter head as a unit upon the main frame of the machine so as to permit the head to tilt to follow up-and-down variations in the coal seam and also to permit the head to tilt or rotate sideways when necessary, to compensate for so-called spiralling, wherein one of the cutter arms may tend to cut at a higher or lower level than the other cutter arm during the forward progress of the cutter head.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and efiicient form of hydraulic control for adjusting the position of the cutter head with respect to the main frame of the machine in the several respects above referred to, without requiring withdrawal of the cutter head and the cutter arms from the working face.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a hydraulic control for the adjusting means capable of being manipulated, if necessary, while the machine is in operation.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from time to time as the following description proceeds.

The invention will best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a plan view of a mining machine constructed in accordance with my invention, but with the boring arms omitted;

Figure 2 is a rear view of the machine shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the machine;

Figure 4 is a front View of the machine;

Figure 5 is a detailed view of one form of universal pivotal mounting for the bottom of the upright head supporting jacks at opposite sides of the cutter head;

Figure 6 is a detailed view of a modified form of mounting for one of the upright head supporting jack Referring now to details of the embodiment of the invention shown in the figures, the mining machine consists essentially of a main frame 10 mounted for mobile transportation, as for instance on a pair of endless tracks or crawlers 21, 21, and having a conveyor 22 extending along the machine from the front end to an overhanging rear section 23 which may be pivoted for both vertical and lateral swinging movement in a well-known manner, which need not be described in detail herein as it forms no part of the present invention.

2,745,649 Patented May 15, 1 956 The main frame of the machine includes a pair of side rads 24, 24 on which the crawlers 21, 21 are supported. These side rails are cross connected in any suitable manner, as at 25 and 26, to form a unitary carriage. A pair of tramming motors 27 and 28 may be mounted near the rear end of the main frame having suitable control means and geared connection for driving the crawlers 23.

The cutter head of the machine is indicated generally at 2% and includes a subframe member 30, adjustably supported on the front end of the main frame by means which will hereinafter be more fully described. The cutter head has a pair of radially extending boring arms 31 and 32 mounted on stub shafts 34, 34 which are journalled in the subframe 30 on laterally spaced horizontal axes. Each of the radial arms carries a plurality of projecting cutter bits 33, 33 extending into position to dislodge material from the working face over a wide circular area as the two arms are rotated. The radial arms are disposed so that their paths of rotation partially overlap at the center of the machine, but said arms are rotated in timed relation with each other, as will presently be described, to avoid interference between them while the machine is in operation.

The two stub shafts 34, 34 for the radial arms are driven from motor means suitably supported on and movable with the subframe 39. In the form shown herein, a single drive motor 36a is employed for this purpose, mounted on the rear face of the subframe and connected by any suitable gear reduction means (not shown) to the stub shafts 34-, 34.

As is common with boring or tunneling machines of this type, an endless chain 35 is trained over a plurality of idler sprockets 36, 36 and 37, 37 mounted on the subframe 30 immediately to the rear of the radial arms 31, 32. The chain 35 is also trained over a pair of sprockets 39, 39 fixed on the shafts 34 of said radial arms. The arrangement is such that the uppermost strand of the cutter chain, extending between idlers, 36,36, cuts a horizontal kerf along the upper wall of the composite bore formed by the radial arms, at a level tangential to the outermost cutting limits of said arms, while a lower strand of the cutter chain, extending between the lower idlers 37, 37, cuts a similar horizontal kerf along the floor of the mine tangential to the lowermost cutting limits of the boring arms, but for a wider distance due to the laterally extended position of the lower idlers 37, 37. it will be observed that the cutter chain 35 forms an operative connection between the two radial arms since said chain is trained over the sprockets 39, 39 carried by said arms, thus insuring timed rotation of the two arms and preventing interference with each other.

Referring now more particularly to the means for flexibly mounting or suspending the subframe or cutter head 36) on the main frame 10 of the machine, a pairof outwardly projecting brackets 45), 40 are fixed on the main frame adjacent the front end thereof, in the form shown herein said supports being carried on the side plates 24, 24 of the crawler and extending therefrom to form supports for the lower ends of a pair of upright jacks 42, 42. In the form shown in Figures 1 to 4, each of the jacks includes a piston rod 43 having a universal type joint indicated generally at 45 at its lower end, including a block .-6 which is mounted for transverse slidable movement with respect to the adjacent bracket 40 on which the jack is supported. Cooperating with the piston rod 43 is an upright cylinder 47 which is rigidly fixed to and along the rear face of the subframe 30 adjacent the outer edge thereof. In the form shown herein, the jack formed by the piston rod 43 and cylinder 47 may be of the doubleacting, hydraulic type controlled by suitable connections and controls (not shown) capable of being manipulated lower piston 43 may have a downwardly concavesocket -51 resting on a ball carried on a block 53 which, in turn, is guided as at 54 by a dove-tailed gib 55 to permit 7 .both universal rocking movement and transverse slidable movement of the jacks 42 relative to the main frame.

Althoughin the form shown the sliding blocks 53, 53 are provided at each side of the main frame, in practice the amount of lateral compensating movement of the lower end of one jack with respect to the other is extreme- 19 small, usually less than one inch, so that, if desired, only one of the jacks may be provided with sliding ad- .justment while the universal or ball-and-socket joint for the other jack can be mounted directly on the supporting lbracket '41), as shown in the modified construction shown in Figure 6.

The subframe 30 is also suported on the main frame 10 by a pair of hydraulic jacks 58, 58 arranged in gen erally parallel, tilting relation toward the rear end of the main frame, with their lower ends pivotally connected to brackets 59, 59 on cross members 26, 26 of the main frame, and with their upper ends pivotally connected to brackets 62, 62 on the rear ends of spaced supporting :arms 63, 63 connected in generally horizontal relation to therear of the subframe 30, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. Thejacks 58, 58 may, as in the case of jacks 42, 42, be of the "double-acting type, having suitable connections and controls of the usual kind manually operated by other control levers mounted on the control panel 50. The jacks 58, 58 may thus be shortened or lengthened independently of each other, if necessary, and the pivotal connections of opposite ends of said jacks to brackets 59 and '62 have sufiiciently loose fit, to aiford permissible lateral tilting of the subframe 30.

The use and operation of the device is as follows:

'To tilt the cutter head to climb a grade, the hydraulic jacks 58, 58 may be contracted to draw the arms downwardly, thereby tilting the upper part of the head backward. Conversely, to follow a downward roll, the head may be tilted forwardly by expanding the hydraulic jacks In case the mining machine starts spiraling, that is .to say one side starts to rise or lower, this tendency can be counteracted by extending only one of the jacks 42pm the proper side, as for instance the right-hand cylinder in Figure 2, whereupon the head will be tilted laterally to some such position shown in broken lines in Figure 2. It will be noted that, in moving from the solid to the broken line conditions of Figure 2, the projected distance between the lower ends of the jacks will tend to increase. To compensate for this, the universal jointcarrying blocks 46 are free to slide sideways a limiteddistance, as indicated, to permit proper readjustment of theparts.

It will be observed that the reaction to the forward thrust of the cutter, head during the cutting operation will be divided between the upright jacks 42, 42 and the forwardly inclined jack 58, 58; although, in practice, it will be found that a large share of such reaction is assumed by the upright jacks 42, 42, which are spaced widely apart and are of especially sturdy construction for this purpose.

Although I have shown and described certain embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the exact constructions shown and described, but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a mining machine of the multi-boring type, a main frame arranged for progressive movement along the ground, a subframe supported at the front end of said main frame having a plurality of horizontally disposed shafts projecting in spaced relation therefrom with radially extending arms on said shafts for cutting a plurality of contiguous bores as the machine is advanced, means for adjustably mounting said subframe-relative to said main frame, including a pair of generally upright jacks disposed along opposite sides of said subframe and pivotally connected for universal tilting movement at their similar ends to one of said frames, and a second pair of lateraliy spaced jacks pivotally connected at their upper ends to said subframe and disposed at downwardly and rearwardly inclined angles to said subframe, and with their lower ends pivotally connected to the main frame at points substantially to the rear of the first-named pair of iacks.

2. In a structure in accordance with claim 1, wherein the second pair of jacks have their upper ends connected to the subframe adjacent the upper part thereof.

3. In a structure in accordance with claim 1, wherein the upright jacks include cylindrical portions fixed to the subframe, and extensible portions pivotally connected for universal tilting movement to the main frame, with at least one of the last-named pivotal connections having lateral sliding and guided adjustment relative to the main frame. 7

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,726,963 McKinlay "Sept. 3, '1929 2,100,361 Simmons Nov. 30, 1937 2,599,042 Bannister June 3, 1952 2,623,758 Cruz Dec. 30, 1952 2,650,811 Osgood Sept. 1, 1953 2,694,562 Snyder et a1 Nov. 16, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 981,860 France Ian. 17, 1951 an.) an 

